The Kingdom of Enclava: 'Smallest country in Europe' adopts dogecoin as national currency

A newly formed micronation in central Europe has adopted the meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin as its official currency.

The Kingdom of Enclava is situated between Croatia and Slovenia, near the town of Metlika, and describes itself as the smallest country in Europe.

What is a micronation?

A micronation is a self-proclaimed nation or state that is not officially recognised by world governments or international organisations.

Notable examples include a disused sea fort located in the North Sea called the Principality of Sealand, and Freetown Christiana, an autonomous neighbourhood in the Danish capital Copenhagen.

Enclava was founded on 23 April after a cartographical discrepancy along the Slovenian border was discovered.

"This exclave would normally be an enclave also, except that neither Slovenia nor Croatia claims one parcel of land that adjoins the exclave," Enclava's official website states.

"If Slovenia were to claim the parcel, Croatia's exclave would become an enclave as well. As it is, the exclave is bordered by Slovenia and The Kingdom of Enclava (Ex Terra Nullius)."

The area of land covered by Enclava is 100sq m, roughly around the same size as the average UK house. Despite this, 130 citizenships have already been granted by the micronation.

The decision to use dogecoin as its official currency was taken by Zach Ferrigno, the Minister of Finance for the Kingdom of Enclava.

Dogecoin describes itself as the "fun and friendly" cryptocurrency and in its 18-month history has been used in charitable drives to provide water to drought-stricken parts of Africa, fund the Jamaican bobsled team and sponsor Nascar driver Josh Wise.

Ferrigno contacted dogecoin's creator Jackson Palmer by email to inform him of its new role within Enclava's economy but Palmer recently announced he was leaving the cryptocurrency community due to its "toxic" culture.